Originally intended as a diary of what is happening on the allotment plot I share with my wife at Glen Allotments in York. However, as is the way with these things other topics seem to manage to get in there as well like the Garden Club and all the other things that prevent us from working on the allotment.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Much of the allotment site resembled this area overgrown with brambles. The foreground shows an area that has been cleared and pegged to mark out plots.

Some have made a start by placing sheds and covering areas with items like black plastic or disused carpets. This may cause the grass to die eventually and supposedly make the plot workable. I fear they may be dissapointed if they want to plant this year. It will almost ineviatably end up with acres of bindweed roots under the tarpaulin.

Some of the plots that have been worked more recently are bit further advanced and making progress towards planting.

One of Bill's plots which has been winter dug and is awaiting planting.

Some of the new cleared plots as work is about to start on them.

Area of our own allotment where the compost heap has been levelled to the left. Carrots and parsnips have been sown under the cloche next to raspberries.

The area by the linka board boxes that were used for potatoes last year has been cleared and is awaiting rotavating. That will be tomorrow's job. Comfrey at the back has started sprouting and we have collected two tubs of leaves to rot down for plant food already.

This is the end where last years compost heap was. It was levelled and the compost rotavated in. Several rows of potatoes have gone in here.

Plum tree in blossom at the front of the allotment with a Berberis Darwinii with fantastic orange flowers in the foreground. This was given to us as a rooted cutting by a friend who lived in the next village about six years ago. I think that I might take a few cuttings off it this year as it is such a wonderful plant.

I have now completed the seven months of work in Switzerland, had a holiday in Goa and started to tidy up the allotment. The photograph shows the view from the balcony of my apartment in Switzerland. Whilst I was away Ann hardly ever went down there and things had got a little bit out of hand. I demolished the compost heap and spread it out around the area that it was occupying, cleared an adjacent area of weeds and have rotovated. I have done some more areas, digging out weeds and then rotovating. The main weeds are milk thistle, bindweed, nettle and docks. With previous years work there is very little couch or squitch or wicks, whatever you call it in your area.

Last October I cleared the curcubrit bed and planted overwintering onions and garlic. They have shown good growth. I have just sown, parsnips, carrots, leeks, salad onions and Swiss Chard, Romanesco Broccoli along with some beans. I had prepared for climbing beans and put up the frames and supports only to find when I opeed the packet that the beans were dwarf French beans.

The allotment site is now beginning to thrive. Most of the plots have now been taken with only two plots left before people will have to go onto a waiting list. Contrast this with five years ago when Ann took on our plot. when only about six plots were in use and she could choose which one she wanted. A great deal of work has gone into clearing plots ready for people to take them on and the site is looking a lot less overgrown.